The issue is not how old the dome is but if it is what considered to be a "first tier" NFL stadium. The language in the lease with the Rams and the CVC (management company for the Jones Dome) requires that the stadium be kept up to certain standards.

The Rams' lease requires the St. Louis stadium authority to provide a first-tier facility by 2015. The Edward Jones Dome is not close to first tier by NFL standards. It's debatable whether a re-design could meet the Rams' likely demands without the project becoming cost-prohibitive.

In the meantime, the Rams have recently rejected the stadium authority's offer (their list of possible improvements) as a matter of course. The stadium authority is expected to reject the Rams' counter proposal which includes a retractable roof among other goodies. Once that happens, an arbitrator will begin deciding what constitutes a reasonable upgrade. That process, scheduled to begin June 15 and conclude before 2013, would produce a compromise proposal for the city to accept or reject.

If the city accepts, the Rams would be bound to the proposal, keeping in place their lease through 2025. If the city rejects the arbitrator's proposal, the Rams would be free to consider their options in St. Louis or elsewhere starting in the 2015 season.

The Rams and the city of St. Louis are in uncharted waters. Nobody knows how the arbitration process will play out and what the consequences of all this will mean.

Finally, our new owner, Stan Kroenke, has been quite silent and is keeping his cards close to his vest. Many wonder if one of those cards includes the move to LA one.

Stay tuned.....

It looks to me like the Rams are really hoping for a brand new stadium. Their counterproposal to the CVC came in at over $700 million. People will seriously question whether or not it is worth throwing that kind of money at a renovation project when you can build a brand new facility for $1 billion. I think this one gets ugly.